Set The Fire To The Third Bar
by taylorschilling
Summary: AU: Alex Vause and Piper Chapman are in a serious relationship before Alex leaves for Afghanistan. How do they deal with being so far from each other, both in distance and thought? But, most importantly, what happens when Alex returns?
1. Prologue

**A/N: This story was inspired by Snow Patrol & Martha Wainwright's song, _Set the Fire to the Third Bar._**

**This chapter is purely a prologue, hence its short length. Its primary purpose is to establish Alex and Piper's relationship.**

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

"_After I have travelled so far__  
><em>_We'd set the fire to the third bar__  
><em>_We'd share each other like an island__  
><em>_Until exhausted, close our eyelids__  
><em>_And dreaming, pick up from__  
><em>_The last place we left off__  
><em>_Your soft skin is weeping__  
><em>_A joy you can't keep in"_

There was silence. Not a sound in the world could break the unfathomable chemistry between the two. Alex cautiously placed her calloused hands on Piper's soft skin, feeling the dimples in her back rise and fall; a reflection of the exhaustion felt by both of them. Their naked bodies grew closer, and closer, until Alex could feel Piper's subtle nipple rub against her lanky clavicles. Piper's head slowly rose, as she instinctively placed her moist lips on her girlfriend's damp torso, and slowly kissed it. The rigidity previously felt by the pair had evaporated into an overwhelming sense of honesty and limpidity.

"I love you," whispered Piper, slowly grasping her hands around Alex's sensual waist; her lips pressed gently against her forehead. She could feel the muscles at the back of her neck twitch with anticipation. Piper's gentle fingers sensitively caressed the curvature of Alex's spine, prompting a tingling sensation in her lower back.

Droplets of water showered them in passionate temperatures, softly tumbling upon their vulnerable bodies. Alex admired the way the water trickled down Piper's fragile chest, causing her pink nipples to erect. Still passionately latching onto her, she slid down her moist body, sucking her lover's perky breasts like a baby's bottle. She could feel Piper's hands rubbing against her thick hair until it was tangled in knots. Alex went lower, fervently indulging upon the stubble of her pubic hair, until Piper could feel her tongue moving in and out of her. She began rocking back and forward in the rhythm of Alex's thrusting, moaning in response to the tantalising sensation. Her lips left her clitoris, as she began to run her tongue against the creases of her upper thigh with sly flicks. She suddenly stopped.

"What are we going to do?" Piper snapped, removing herself from the suckling sensation, and consequently climbing her way out of the shower. Alex impulsively latched onto her newly-shaven legs; her head rising to reveal a sympathetic expression.

"It's only going to be a few months. Pipes, you know that-"

Reaching for her towel, Piper incessantly sunk to the floor, her tender palms concealing her face.

"How the _fuck _is this going to work while" she said, whimpering in an attempt to conceal her trembling voice, "you're getting … shot at!"

Alex impulsively strode out of the shower, kneeling down to clasp her hands around her girlfriend's soft face. "I will never leave you," she confidently confessed, wiping the hot tears gushing down Piper's flushed cheeks. "Babe, this is not a fucking Quentin Tarantino movie. I am a part of the US Army. We're the best fighters in the world."

Piper's lips trembled as she let out a breath of fresh air and flung herself forward into Alex's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around her as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I love you so much," she mumbled into the brunette's shoulder, and Alex let out a breath, pulling Piper closer to her as she breathed in her scent.

The two of them embraced each other for a few moments, basking in each other's presence, before Alex pulled back. She placed her hand back onto Piper's cheek and leant forward to rest their foreheads together, closing her eyes and breathing in slowly.

"I love you too," she whispered, her voice quiet and soft.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. It's not amazing, but I hope you enjoy it. Excuse the typos. I've just come out of surgery so I'm a bit off balance.**

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><p><em>"I find a map and draw a straight line<br>Over rivers, farms, and state lines  
>The distance from here to where you'd be<br>It's only finger-lengths that I see"_

**_Alex Vause_**

Alex wasn't one to cry over anyone, much less a girlfriend. She had always been renowned for her thick skin and infallible instincts. However, this moment struck a chord deep down within her. Decked out in her oversized khaki military trousers and matching insulation jacket – her huge and heavy boots encasing her feet – she hastily made her way towards the drab U.S Army Force military aircraft in a fine attempt at avoiding the onslaught of tears a single glance at her lover would stimulate. With each step, she felt further and further away from the woman she was deeply, madly, totally in love with.

Alex Vause had served active duty in the United States Army for the past four years. Her decision to join was inertly aroused following the sudden death of her mother and consequently, her dark descent into the swallows of drug addiction. She knew there was something more to life, but what? It wasn't until a chance encounter in the early months of 2009 that exponentially transformed her existence. Unexpectedly, it came in the mystic form of a tall blonde: Piper Chapman. As a General Army Service Officer, Piper had balls of steel (metaphorically, of course) and a goofy sternness that Alex found particularly attractive in a female. The first night the couple spent together was something that left a firm imprint in her mind; her heart fluttered just thinking about it. It was the first time she felt satisfied and happy. She started to wonder if that was what love was about. Piper wasn't a bit surprised when Alex asked her to move in with her two months later, nor was she when Alex proposed to her exactly five years to the date they met. Even though they had yet to set a wedding date, Alex had promised her fiancée that as soon as she returned from her deployment, they would get married. That was the only morsel of optimism keeping the couple afloat in the cavernous depths of despair and remoteness.

_What the fuck am I doing?_ Alex thought, resisting the prevailing urge to erupt into a torrent of tears. Impulsively, she turned around to find Piper clutching the wire fence with her left hand, her right concealing the tears precipitously flowing down her flushed face. Alex thought she could hear the tears echoing loud and clear through the brisk New York air.

"I love you," Piper shouted across the open landing field.

Alex's delicate face rose and her whole body jerked with the sound of Piper's voice.

"I love you more."

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><p>The 15,000 U.S Troops sat tightly beside each other in the packed aircraft as it flew at 35,000 feet. With her seat facing other militants – mostly men – Alex glanced down at the floor in sorrow. Unlike the thousands sitting around her, Alex was new to the deployment process. She didn't know a single soul. Despite the self-assured front she presented to others, none of that confidence ran about her insides in this claustrophobic container.<p>

"You okay?" a voice suddenly said, quite close to her, making her jump in surprise.

Alex's green eyes widened as her head mechanically turned to her right, her eyes resting on a bulky man with a solemn face, his dark hair effortlessly slicked back.

"Um. Wha— Me?"

"Yeah. You look a bit flushed. You want me to go grab you some water?"

Alex blushed. "Um, no. All good," she stuttered, her hands clasping together, fidgeting with the hem of her heavy field jacket.

"First time, huh?" the man asked after a pause, a pleasant lilt to the tone of his voice.

"First? Ah-Oh right, yeah," Alex swallowed nervously, folding her arms across her chest, awkwardly looking down at the floor below them. She felt her chest begin to restrict with an unknowing feeling, which she attributed to the lack of windows and consequently, the stuffy air circulating the cabin.

The man suddenly jumped as if remembering something, pulling up his sleaves.

"Oh, how rude of me. I'm U.S. Marine Sgt. Marshall Townsend or Marsh, for short," he said with a tentative smile on his face, his hand outstretched towards her.

Alex stared at it, slightly apprehensive. "Alex. Alex Vause," she introduced, taking his hand in a firm grip, hoping to come across as strong.

Marsh politely smiled; the type of grin you would see on a little kid. "Well, it's awfully nice to meet you, Alex."

"Likewise." Alex murmured, turning her head, attempting to avoid his piercing blue eyes.

Alex's glance awkwardly returned to her shoes and away when he looked down at her fingers.

"Who's the lucky guy?" he harmlessly chuckled.

The blood abruptly rushed up into her face, her anxiety and heartache suddenly starting to boil up and spill over.

"Dude! I'm just going to spit it out," she sighed, passive aggressively taking a breath, struggling to hold her temper, "I'm not like you, yeah? You're wasting your time. What do you want from me?"

Marsh's smile precipitously turned into a frown, his eyes veiled with worry and concern.

"I'm—I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I didn't mean to upset you. I know how it feels to leave your loved ones."

Marsh took a deep breath, causing Alex to look over her shoulder. A tinge of regret unexpectedly thumping her heart like a dagger.

"Last night, my daughter ran up to me—" he softly muttered, "—tears were running down her face. She's only five but she's a little pocket rocket that one. Like any parent, I asked her what was wrong." Marsh suddenly stopped, brushing the back of his hand across his forehead. "She said to me— um," he abruptly shook his head, unable to continue.  
>"Oh god, sorry I don't know why I'm telling you this."<p>

Alex frowned, playing with the ring on her finger. "What did she say?" she asked as empathetically as she could.

Marsh fidgeted, attempting a fake laugh to cover the sudden sadness in his voice.

"She looked me in the eyes and asked, 'Why can't the war just come here so you don't have to go?' I laughed, of course. I told her about the baddies in the war and how America was the safest place for Mommy and her. It wasn't until she said, in her squeaky little voice, 'I could help you. We could work together as a team. I don't care if I die. At least you would still be alive' that I couldn't help myself. She would risk her own life for mine. Do you know how heartbreaking it is to hear your very own child say something like that? It's horrible. Of the five short years of her life, I've only been there for two," he exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but some tears had already started rolling down his hood. "But, that's enough of me," he said, trying to hide the tears starting to pile down his face with an awkward laugh.

Alex cracked her knuckles and her mouth set into a fine line, eyes gazing intensely at the ground. She didn't know what to say or do. She sighed and crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

_Fuck_, she thought. _What am I supposed to say now?_

"I overreacted before. I was out of line. I'm sorry to hear—"

"—You don't need to be sorry. We all feel the same. It's just, well, some of us have more experience in hiding our feelings. To be honest, we're all in the same boat – well, plane to be exact," he laughed, clasping his flushed cheeks in embarrassment. "That was a bit lame, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, a bit," Alex said, popping a side grin sowing a dimple.

Marsh sighed contently, straightening up to adjust his seat.

"I'm leaving behind somebody too," Alex exclaimed, cumbersomely playing with the split ends of her jet-black hair. "I don't know where I would be without her. She's my life," she shuddered, her face blushing. "God, now I sound like the corny one."

"Not at all," Marsh responded, a gentle smile returning to his face.

Alex sighed. "Her name's Piper," she muttered, instinctively touching her ruby stoned heart necklace; a present Piper had bought her for her 32nd birthday. "We're engaged, you know? Yeah, as soon as I return, we're getting married," she paused, trying to suppress the onslaught of tears that were just dying to be released.  
>Marsh instinctively zipped open his backpack, retrieving a small set of tissues and placing them on Alex's lap.<p>

"You scared the distance will affect your relationship?" he asked, earnestly.

"No. Not, at all. I think that when you have a connection with someone it never really goes away, you know? You snap back to being important to each other because you still are."

Marsh nodded, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Great minds think alike."

She pulled out a tissue to wipe her face before she turned back to him. "You got someone?"

Marsh let out a little laugh. "If you were wondering whether I was going to hit on you, I've got some awfully sad news for you – I am happily married to my beautiful wife and to put it quite bluntly, not looking for some 'hanky panky' on the side. But, there's no denying that you're a lovely lady, just not my type" he cheekily winked.

Alex snickered. "Well, that's good to know."

Marsh returned to his backpack, grasping a packet of Wrigley gum.

"Want some?" he asked, unwrapping a piece.

Alex politely shook her head. Marsh unwrapped another three pieces, plopping them all in his mouth, chewing them as if they were tobacco.

He mumbled something inaudibly as his tongue pushed the gum to the inside of his left cheek. "You know what, Alex Vause? I've got your back. You wanna get back to your fiancée in one piece, yeah? Well, I'm going to make that happen," he said, enthusiastically. "On my last recruitment, a few of my close companions didn't make it. But, you know what, Alex? I'm not going to lose anybody else, including you."

She smiled in response, her face turning a shade of pink. "Promise?"

"Promise with all my heart," he whispered, friendlily taking her hand. "But, only if you don't go ape shit on me again."

Alex let out a chuckle and cheerfully shrugged.

"Fine, then. Deal."


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: A big thank you to everybody who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story thus far. I cannot thank you enough. This chapter isn't spectacular but it's important for what is yet to come. Once again, I apologise for any typos or mistakes. I hope I've done the characters justice. Thank you for reading!**

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><p><em>"Their words mostly noises<br>Ghosts with just voices  
>Your words in my memory<br>Are like music to me"_

_**Piper Chapman**_

Lounging against the silk-cushioned chair, Piper sat staring out the French doors at the incessant rain. The pounding resembled the sound of a million arrows drumming against the resilient ground; daunting, yet so admirably beautiful.

Only just noticing the soggy oatmeal slowly swaying towards the brim of her bowl, Piper swiftly brought her dry lips to the porcelain tip, hungrily gulping down the cereal as if it were her last meal. The coolness of the bowl brought a slight chill, as she precipitously licked the excess milk off her cracked lips.

The sound of footsteps suddenly engulfed her thoughts, as she impatiently spun around to see a desolate hallway. It had been five saturnine days since Alex's departure for Afghanistan. The waterworks had erupted as soon as they entered the bleak Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield. However, the whole day was a blur. All she remembered was Alex – dressed to the nines in her US Army garb – melancholically waving goodbye as she made her way to the unsightly military tanker. It was as if she was walking in slow motion, the humid wind in her hair as tiny spits of rain trickled down her pale face. Or were they tears? She felt as if she would never know.

Piper was suddenly transported out of her reverie with a sudden burst as her phone droned from across the room. Instinctively, she jumped over to her iPhone sitting on the coffee table hoping for the caller ID to reveal Alex Vause. To her disappointment, it was her mother. She felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She reluctantly answered.

"What's up, Mom?" Piper asked, attempting to conceal the quiver in her voice.

"Darling, I've just started this amazing workout. Oh god, the name's escaped me. It's yoga but in a hot room—"

"—Bikram yoga? Yeah, what does this have to do with me?" Piper grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"That's it! It's ludicrous that they don't change the name to something more … American! But that's beside the point, I've put your name down for the class tomorrow—"

"You've done _what?" _she gaped, her mouth agape.

"Oh, Piper. You've been moping around like a sad puppy; I'm just trying to help now that Ally has gone. Plus, you get 25% off your membership when you refer somebody."

"It's Alex," Piper mumbled, her nails digging into the thick corduroy couch's arm pillows.

Piper went silent as her hands went to her head, rubbing at her temples. Her mother had yet to come to terms with her being a lesbian, yet alone her engagement to another woman. Carol Chapman's constant reassertion's that it was simply 'a phase' and that once the right man came along, she would realise the massive mistake she's made continued to drive her crazy.

Secretly, Carol Chapman was relieved to hear the news of Alex's deployment. The public display of affection both women expressed during their visits repulsed her. From the moment Piper was born, she knew she was destined for success – and with that came a husband and children. She imagined her only daughter pursuing a career in a distinguished field – like law or politics –earning international recognition for her intelligence, and stunning aesthetics, of course. The first big blow came when Piper dropped out of college. She claimed that studying wasn't her forte, and she'd be better off plunging headfirst into the workforce. Three days later she was employed as an administration assistant with the United States Army. To Carol's dismay, Piper actually enjoyed the job. However, the biggest blow came when Piper brought a woman home for dinner. When Carol found out about Piper's intimate relationship with a colleague, she was expecting a high-ranking army executive with muscles as big as the Pacific Ocean. But, most of all, she was anticipating a handsome male. When Alex Vause walked into the Chapman residency, Carol automatically assumed that this was one of Piper's new friends – until Piper fervently took her by the hand and introduced her. The world seemed to stop – the wind, time, sound and even her heart seemed to exponentially slow down and fall out from underneath her entirely. But, once again, she maintained the stance that Piper was simply going through a rough patch in her life – a 'phase'.

"Piper, are you there?" Carol asked, attempting to sound concerned.

"Yeah, what? I'm honestly not in the mood for this," mumbled Piper in protest.

"Now that she's gone, we should spend more time together."

"_She?_ –" Piper angrily seethed through her teeth " – _She _is my fiancé not just a piece of – of goddamn rubbish!"

Carol gasped. "Language, Piper."

"Oh, mother. We have to talk about my relationship sometime and—and don't give me that 'phase' bullshit," Piper stuttered, angrily. "Alex is the love of my life. If that makes me a lesbian, then woopie doo I'm a fully-fledged lesbian and proud of it!"

For once in Piper's life, her mother was legitimately speechless. Piper was simply fed up of her mother's ardent attempts at avoiding the topic of Alex. For years, Alex had begged Piper to have the 'sexuality discussion' with her mother, but to no avail. She had always backed off like a scared little rabbit while Carol changed topics as fast as she changed clothes – which was _a lot!_

"Well, then" Carol swallowed, her tone changing. "I'll see you tomorrow at 6pm. It's a 45 minute class but it goes so incredibly fast. Oh, and I'll get your father to email you the details. I'm still not up-to-date with the latest gadget, techy magingy thing," she laughed.

Piper shook her head, her arm draped over her eyes, her body splayed out on the couch.

"Fine," she whispered, giving into her mother's persistent requests that would follow if she declined. "I'll go, but then we have to talk about my relationship with Alex, yeah?"

"Fantastic. I'll see you then," Carol blurted, hanging up.

Piper threw her phone on the couch, and picked up random objects laying beside her, sending them flying, her internal pain too strong to bare. But, she wouldn't give up. She'd tell the world about her and Alex if it were possible. Why should she keep her relationship private? While lesbianism was taboo in her family, it was something they had to accept. She was _not _going to risk her relationship for their approval. She loved Alex more than anything in the world and couldn't wait for her to be back home, holding her tight in her arms. Maybe this Bikram yoga would be a tolerable distraction from the headache she felt from being so far away from the woman she adored.

Instinctively, Piper precipitously retrieved her phone comfortably shoved between the cushions of her plus sofa and scrolled down her contacts until Alex appeared. She pressed call and shakily the phone to her ear desperate for her lover to pick up.

She waited for what seemed like hours as the phone carried on ringing until eventually reaching Alex's voicemail. She ended the call, opening up the message application.

"I miss you, baby," she texted. "I miss you like crazy. I love you so much. I can't wait to have you in my arms again. I love you." Her delicate hands shook as she pressed the 'send' button.

_What am I supposed to do now? _She thought to herself, fresh tears trickling down her face as she slid down the sofa, tucking her knees close to her chest.

After a deep breath and a glance of the embarrassing photo hanging on the wall of the two in Bali, her focus returned to the message application.

_What would Alex do?_

With a loud exhale, she closed her eyes, reopening them to write the first thought that popped into her head; an activity Alex encouraged Piper to do more often.  
>Her hands willingly touched the keys, her fingers pressing the letters mechanically.<p>

"… Oh, and have you tried Bikram yoga?"


End file.
